Great Special Effects But Little Else

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 2013)

The problem with special effects films is that the special effects tend to dominate the story and the character development, but at the end of the day, it is story and character which make a film memorable. "Pacific Rim" is a classic case – great special effects overshadow a poorly developed story line and even weaker characters. One of the core problems in the film is that the main actor, Charlie Hunnam, who does such a great job on the TV series "Sons of Anarchy", just doesn't translate well to the big screen. It's not an uncommon problem (think David Caruso). His co-star, Rinko Kikuchi, seems completely lost, and most of the other characters don't have enough screen time for us to care one way or the other. Idris Elba, who usually turns in a good performance, can barely be understood, and Max Martini ("The Unit", "Redbelt"), another fine actor, seems to be sleepwalking.
The comic relief, provided by Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, and Burn Gorman, are more ludicrous than funny.
OTOH, the film does have some really impressive special effects, except for the ending, which appears to be shot in the pool of Director Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro directed the "Hell boy" (2004, 2008) films, which probably accounts for Ron Perlman's brief cameo. His best work has been "Pam's Labyrinth" (2006) which wasn't exactly an action adventure film, and his penchant for sci-fi and insect-like creatures can be seen as far back as "Mimic" (1997) which isn't remembered as a classic. Nonetheless he does a good job with the special effect sequences and they will keep you on the edge of the seat.